Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad will play Match 40 of the IPL 2021. Both teams are in the bottom half of the points table. Of them, Hyderabad have almost no chance of qualifying for the Playoffs. The Royals, in the seventh position until last night, rose one place after Mumbai Indians’ massive defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, they still need more wins and points.
This season has been a nightmare for Hyderabad, who have failed in at least one department in every match. Even in the last match, after a great bowling performance by Jason Holder and Rashid Khan, SRH failed to chase down even 125 against Punjab Kings and lost by 5 runs.
Time is running out for David Warner, who may get replaced by Jason Roy after scoring just two runs from the last two matches. Kane Williamson has also provide them with stability, and their Indian middle order has failed to provide any level of confidence. They have missed Vijay Shankar, who is still isolating, while Kedar Jadhav has just 55 runs in five innings this season. They may opt for the younger Indian options like Virat Singh and Abhishek Sharma looking at the future.
With ball, Rashid Khan has 12 wickets from 9 matches, but Holder, the second-highest wicket-taker, has got only six (albeit from only three matches). The Indian pacers, the backbone of their attacked, have lacked penetration this season. They have missed T. Natarajan, who, after recovering from a knee surgery, is now isolating after testing positive for Covid-19. However, they will hope to replicate their excellent bowling performance from the Punjab match.
Rajasthan pulled off a heist against Punjab, but the gaps in their line up were clearly visible against a strong Delhi Capitals bowling attack, when Sanju Samson ended up fighting a lone battle. Like Hyderabad, their bowling line up is performing better than their batters.
They missed two influential overseas players, Evin Lewis and Chris Morris, in the last match, which impacted their team balance. It is still not clear whether they are match-fit. If Lewis is back, Liam Livingstone can return to the weak-looking middle order. Samson will be key in the battle against Rashid and Holder, against whom he does not have a very good record in IPL. Their young Indian batters lack consistency, and they may look to fit in Shivam Dube in the middle order, probably for Riyan Parag, who has now failed twice in a row.
Their bowling will look better if they get a fit Morris back to lead the bowling. Mustafizur Rahman has bowled brilliantly both in the Powerplay and the death overs. His variations, like the slower ball and cutters, have created problems for the batters. The young Indian duo of Chetan Sakariya and Kartik Tyagi looks promising, and should enjoy bowling against an off-form Hyderabad line-up.
Likely XIs
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed.
Rajasthan Royals: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Kartik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman.
Betway Fantasy Tips
- Holder contributed with both bat and ball and almost took SRH to victory single-handedly in the last match
- Samson can anchor the innings and bat long
- With two weak batting line ups in show, bowlers from both the teams are expected to gain
Blitzpools Fantasy XI
Sanju Samson; Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Liam Livingstone; Jason Holder (vc), Rahul Tewatia; Rashid Khan (c), Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
